


our story~break the fast~

by thunderylee



Category: KAT-TUN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Romance, member love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-03
Updated: 2011-10-03
Packaged: 2019-01-27 08:47:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12578056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderylee/pseuds/thunderylee
Summary: The crew at Tokyo’s longest-running television morning show will do anything to earn ratings. Anything.





	our story~break the fast~

**Author's Note:**

> reposted from agck.

No matter how you looked at it, four AM was fucking early.

For Nakamaru Yuichi, however, it meant he was running late. Very late, being as Ueda liked them to be on set by four-thirty for briefings and last-minute changes. Although, to be fair, Nakamaru has worked for KTUN for over ten years now, specifically the morning show for the past five – by now, they should really just expect him to walk in right before they go live.

Probably he should take a leaf out of their on-location reporter’s book and just not go to sleep. Akanishi Jin passes out the minute the camera shuts off, often on a park bench or in the lobby of wherever he’s broadcasting in front of. There’s a website dedicated to the many places people photograph him sleeping, which Nakamaru thinks is a little creepy, but Jin doesn’t mind. Any publicity is good publicity, he claims.

Producer Ueda Tatsuya is just happy that Jin’s not getting caught with his pants down anymore. That had taken _forever_ to blow over, and people still called him ‘Eggplant’ on the street. On camera.

“You’re welcome,” Jin had said with a smirk when their ratings shot up .06%.

“You’re late,” Jin says now, only it’s completely muffled from the bagel in his mouth. “We had a meeting. Tatchan’s pissed.”

“Shit,” Nakamaru hisses, running a hand through his still-wet hair and looking around nervously. He’s not quite sure what he’s looking for, but he’ll know when he finds it.

It turns out to be Tanaka Koki, who swaggers around the corner in his pinstripe suit and fedora, winking and flashing a gold tooth. “Yo, Yucchi. What’s good?”

“I don’t know,” Nakamaru replies, wringing his hands a bit as he looks helplessly at his co-anchor.

Koki walks up to Nakamaru, grabs him by the shoulders, and shakes him. Hard.

“Relax!” he yells in Nakamaru’s face. Then he grins, showing _all_ of his gold teeth.

Oddly, Nakamaru feels better.

“We’re on in five,” Koki says brightly, punching Nakamaru in the shoulder before disappearing through the on-set door.

“Your hair looks like shit,” Jin says helpfully, pieces of bagel flying out as he speaks, and somehow he swallows the entire mouthful at once. No wonder he goes both ways. “I have to head to the scene of that murder last night. Have a good show!”

Nakamaru stares at his reflection in the mirror as he’s left alone in the green room. His hair is wild and unruly, drying in splotches, and he wonders if he should just steal one of Koki’s hats as he shrugs into one of his many argyle blazers. A tie makes him more presentable, and Nakamaru deems his hair acceptable – if a tad retro – as he strides confidently to his seat.

“Nice sex hair,” Kamenashi Kazuya calls after him.

On a whim, Nakamaru turns to wink at the sports reporter.

And trips over the step leading up to the anchor desk, landing flat on his face and sending the weatherman into hysterics.

“It’s not _fall_ yet, Nakamaru-kun!” Taguchi Junnosuke exclaims, clapping even though he’s the only one.

Nakamaru can feel Ueda rolling his eyes, probably wishing he could strangle himself with his headphones as he curses his decision to major in television broadcasting for the hundredth time this year. And it’s only January.

“Places,” is all he says, dryly into the megaphone.

Brushing off his shoulders, Nakamaru stands tall and takes his seat at the anchor desk next to Koki, who raises his eyebrows at the state of Nakamaru’s hair, and Tokyo’s lowest-ranked television morning show runs yet another day.

*

“ _Cancelled_?!” Nakamaru squeaks, sending the nearby flock of birds scattering and scaring several small children in the park.

“Will you keep your voice down?” Ueda hisses, looking around like they were discussing government secrets instead of something that’s been expected for awhile. “Headquarters isn’t pleased with the gutter ratings we’ve been bringing in-”

“Our ratings have been shit for years,” Nakamaru interrupts as he stuffs his hands into his pockets to offset the cold. “There has to be another reason for suddenly wanting to pull the plug.”

Ueda sighs. “Where do I start, Yuichi? Our competition has been curbing us since they’ve been on the air. Stubborn Jin still places bets with their producer, although I suspect he enjoys being Yamashita’s slave more than ‘friendly terms’ implies.”

Making a face, Nakamaru quickly changes the subject. “They’re cuter than we are. We never stood a chance.”

He squeaks again when Ueda punches him in the arm. Hard.

“It’s true!” he protests. “Nobody watches It’s Big NEWS!! for the content!”

“That’s our problem,” Ueda says firmly. “Aside from Jin’s reputation and Taguchi’s awful weather puns, we don’t really have much entertainment value.”

“When you put it that way…” Nakamaru trails off as he tries to think of ways they could be entertaining. “You would think Koki’s pimp look and Taguchi’s curtain-inspired suits would be aesthetically pleasing enough.”

“And they are,” Ueda agrees. “According to the haters on the Internet, the only reason to watch our show is to see our, quote, ‘fugly costumes’.”

“Costumes?” Nakamaru inquires. “But we all wear our own clothes…”

Ueda shrugs. “All I know is that we need to step up our game or they’re going to yank us. There’s this university station show that could possibly replace us in the spring.”

“So that’s it,” Nakamaru says. “Fresh meat. Out with the old and in with the new. We’re not even _thirty_ yet, Tatsuya.”

“They’re quite funny, actually,” Ueda tells him. “And they wear roller skates on location.”

Nakamaru stops in his tracks. “That _is_ kind of cool.”

“They’re called Kiss My Sunrise and they’re incredibly popular on campus,” Ueda goes on. “But most of them graduate this year and the Domotos want to nab them before anyone else. That is, if we don’t get our ratings up.”

“We may as well just look for new jobs,” Nakamaru says with a defeated sigh. “Massu mentioned an opening for staff at their station -”

He’s cut off when Ueda punches him again. “Are you a traitor? Don’t you care about our show?”

“Of course I do!” Nakamaru replies defensively. “I just don’t see any point in competing, whether against these roller-skating kids or Yamashita’s crew. Maybe we should just put together a farewell show and leave quietly.”

“Spoken by a true quitter,” Ueda scoffs. “Admittedly these past five years haven’t been the greatest, but I’ll be _damned_ if I let some hotshot kids overthrow my show.”

Nakamaru gapes. “Tatsuya…”

“Jin had an idea in this morning’s meeting,” Ueda says in a forcibly confident voice, like he’s trying to convince himself as well. “For once.”

“He’s not going to report naked, is he?” Nakamaru asks, cringing at the thought. “He hasn’t exactly stayed in shape lately, and besides, it’s the middle of winter. The alleged eggplant will be more like a beet.”

“No, no.” Ueda looks considerably happier now that he has that comparison. “He suggested that we, um, pay more attention to each _other_ on camera.”

Nakamaru feels his blood draining. “You mean…”

“Yes, _fanservice_.” Ueda whispers the word like it’s dirty. “You said so yourself – nobody watches It’s Big NEWS!! for the content. Aside from being undeniably cute, they have that whole gay member love thing going on. I think that Tegoshi girl even gives the sports report from Koyama’s lap.”

“Tegoshi is a boy,” Nakamaru points out. “And I don’t want Kame in my lap.”

“Fight fire with fire, Yuichi,” Ueda says. “If we have to degrade ourselves a little to stay on the air, so be it.”

Nakamaru frowns. “Easy for you to say. You get to stay off-camera.”

“Perks to being the leader.” Ueda grins. “Come on, they don’t call it ‘corporate whoring’ for nothing. It’s not like it’s real.”

That night, Nakamaru dreams of starring in one of his sister’s yaoi mangas and wakes up at two-thirty in a cold sweat.

Of course, this just means he’s on time for his living nightmare.

*

“Can’t we just rap the news?” Nakamaru asks in a last ditch effort, resisting the urge to headdesk before the show even starts. “I’ll beatbox, you rap. It will be like those Autotune the News videos on YouTube. I bet nobody’s ever done that before.”

In the next seat, Koki’s making eyes at him. “Somehow your resisting makes this more fun.”

“Fuck my life,” Nakamaru groans.

“Do you think this is good enough?” Kame asks the set as a whole, blinking his heavily-lined eyes at his colleagues. “Too bad it’s not baseball season, then I could _really_ get into it.”

“It’s going to be warmer today,” Taguchi announces cheerfully. “I have a whole bunch of sexy ‘hot’ puns to use on Koki-kun.”

Koki smirks. “Looking forward to it.”

“Remember, the segues are where we can really work this,” Ueda calls through the megaphone. “When you say ‘back to you, NakaNaka!’, I want it to _ooze_ with innuendo. Akanishi, are you in place?”

A crinkle of static sounds, then Jin’s blowfish face flashes on one of the monitors. The first thing Nakamaru notices is that he’s wearing makeup – not just guyliner and lip gloss, but actual eyeshadow and lipstick. His eyelashes even look longer than normal, and Nakamaru is pretty sure they’re sparkling.

Then Jin steps back, and there’s a collective gasp throughout the set. In a slinky dress slit up the side and fishnets, he actually looks like a girl. His hair is even curled and pinned back with a butterfly clip.

“You better stare,” Jin greets them, his masculine voice seeming completely out of place. “I was up all night gluing these fucking nails on.” He flips up his middle finger for them all to see the pink gem on the tip.

Ueda appears speechless. Kame’s jaw is practically on the ground, and he hasn’t even properly spoken to Jin in six years. It’s Koki who manages to find his voice first: “Did Pi let you borrow his man boobs?”

Jin rolls his blue-shadowed eyes. “They’re not detachable, moron.”

“What on _earth_ possessed you to do this, Jin?” Ueda finally sputters, looking torn between being traumatized and interested.

“If Tegoshi can do it, so can I,” Jin says firmly, then makes a kissy face at the camera. “And call me Jinnifer.”

“Tegoshi doesn’t have to wear women’s clothes to look like a girl,” Kame speaks up, a bit condescendingly.

Jin glares at him. “You look like a raccoon. As expected from an amateur.”

“Knock it off, you two,” Ueda booms into the megaphone. “One minute.”

“This is going to be a disaster,” Nakamaru mutters, covering his face with argyle sleeves.

Koki’s hand on his arm isn’t nearly as comforting as it should be.

*

“It was basically the most embarrassing week of my life,” Nakamaru tells his best friend later. “And I started out as an intern on Have a KinKi Morning.”

“Aw, but it worked, didn’t it?” Masuda Takahisa’s bright smile lights up the otherwise dim cafe. “I guess I don’t really understand how you feel because I’m so used to it. If Nishikido-kun ever didn’t introduce me as ‘cute Buta’, I would be worried.”

“It’s not just that,” Nakamaru insists. “Words I can handle. Koki keeps _touching_ me and I don’t know how Kame can speak while moving his tongue like that. It’s quite disturbing. And then there’s Jin…”

“I heard about Akanishi-kun,” Massu says sympathetically. “Leader’s been out of it all week. More than usual.”

“The people he interviewed seemed to respond well to it, though,” Nakamaru recalls. “I have to admit it’s a better character for him than the dumb, slutty playboy.”

Massu swallows another gyoza. “See! There are positive outcomes to this.”

“The ratings didn’t go up that much,” Nakamaru goes on. “At this rate, we’ll need to hump each other to keep our jobs.”

“It’s only the first week, Yuu-kun,” says Massu. “Give it time!”

Nakamaru narrows his eyes. “Why are you being so supportive? You’re the competition!”

“You’re not directly competing with us,” Massu points out. “Whether you stay on the air or not doesn’t affect my show at all. We’re not going to one-up you or anything.”

“You don’t need to.” Nakamaru sighs. “Your crew just _looks_ at each other and girls squeal. What’s your secret?”

Massu shrugs. “I don’t really know. We all have our roles, I think. Koyama dotes on everyone like a mother hen, Nishikido pretends to be irritated and mocks us, Tegoshi’s harmlessly self-centered, and Shige fails a lot despite being extraordinarily intelligent. I just smile and recommend an appropriate meal to go with the day’s forecast.”

“Hmm, I don’t think that would work for us,” Nakamaru thinks out loud. “I think the only reason we even get along is because we’re so used to each other’s shit.”

“You’ll think of something!” Massu says cheerfully. “I have faith in Omaru-kun.”

Nakamaru smiles solemnly at the familiar nickname. “I’m glad one of us does.”

*

He makes it until Valentine’s Day before storming into Ueda’s office, red-faced and scandalized like normal.

“I can’t _believe_ you let him interview schoolgirls while fellating a dildo-shaped sucker!” Nakamaru explodes.

“It wasn’t shaped like a dildo,” Ueda replies calmly. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

Nakamaru gapes at him until Ueda sways over from behind his desk and pokes Nakamaru’s jaw shut with a finger. They stare at each other for a moment, ten years of friendship and camaraderie leading to some type of telepathic connection, which mostly involves Ueda lecturing Nakamaru with his eyes and Nakamaru reluctantly giving in.

“Is it working at least?” Nakamaru asks desperately, like this trauma would be worth it if it brought their ratings up.

Ueda’s mouth breaks into a grin, and it’s the best thing Nakamaru’s seen in this building in a month. “It actually is. Last I checked, we’re right behind It’s Big NEWS!!”

“That’s great!” Nakamaru exclaims.

“But they’re still cancelling us,” Ueda goes on, and Nakamaru’s face falls. “They want the roller-skating brats no matter what, it seems.”

“Tatsuya,” Nakamaru says slowly. “What are you going to do?”

“Me? I’ll be fine.” Ueda waves off the concerns. “I’ve been thinking about teaching at the university anyway. There aren’t enough competent broadcasters these days and there’s only one way to fix that.”

Nakamaru is exceptionally glad that he’s already been to school, because having Ueda as a teacher isn’t the most motivational inspiration ever. “That will be… interesting,” he gets out.

“You guys will all find new jobs, no problem,” Ueda goes on. “The Domotos agreed to give you all glowing letters of recommendation, and you know how much influence they have in this industry.”

“I could work anywhere,” Nakamaru thinks out loud, dreaming of the beaches of Okinawa. The visions of girls in bikinis and surfing are short-lived, though, as his thoughts keep coming back to KTUN and the early-morning times they’ve shared – both good and bad. Five years is a lot to just throw away. “There’s no way for us to stay on the air?” he asks hopefully.

Ueda’s shakes his head hard enough for his bangs to fall into his eyes, and Nakamaru gets to them before he does. There he sees it, the sadness and regret in Ueda’s soft brown eyes, and the next thing he knows, he’s pulling Ueda into a hug for probably the second time ever.

When Ueda’s arms wrap around him and squeeze, Nakamaru starts to see the perks of not working together anymore.

*

“It’s with deep regret that we announce the farewell episode of Break the Fast,” Koki says from behind the anchor desk, looking more solemn and serious than Nakamaru’s ever seen him. “In addition to bringing you the news, today’s episode will be dedicated to our team and the five years we’ve spent together at KTUN. First, our sports reporter, Kamenashi Kazuya.”

Kame’s wearing dark sunglasses that makes him look bug-eyed and aloof, but Nakamaru knows it’s because he hasn’t slept yet and his eyes are red for reasons he won’t admit to. Kame’s montage starts off with his first day with the station, when he was an energetic seventeen-year-old intern who idolized everyone, and it’s almost like he’s growing up through the pictures. Many of the early ones include dumb poses with Jin, which makes Nakamaru feel awkward until Jin saunters out on the set – dressed as a boy, for once – and hops up onto the counter next to Kame.

Kame looks up at him and they share a smirk of understanding. Then Kame gives the sports report for the last time, looking wistful as he announces the number of days until baseball season starts, and ignores how Jin’s poking at his hair.

“Kazuya, what are your plans?” Koki asks calmly; it had been decided that Koki would do most of the talking since Nakamaru doesn’t trust his voice.

“I’m going to go work for the Giants, Koki,” Kame answers in his professional voice. “I don’t care if I have to be a bat boy, I’ll work my way up. I’m too old to play now, but I just want to be a part of the game.”

“I heard the Giants’ manager watches our show,” Jin says casually, and Kame glares at him. “You’ll definitely get in.”

Koki clears his throat. “Next, on-location reporter, Akanishi Jin.”

Jin grins at the screen during his own montage, laughing at his hair in the very beginning. Many of the pictures include Yamashita from It’s Big NEWS!!, all of which have hot pink scribbles next to his face that say “the enemy” with a smiley face. The evolution of Jin’s hair continues throughout, from perms to shags and long manes, and even Nakamaru laughs at the infamous picture of Jin holding an oversized Kyoto eggplant with a smug look on his face.

“How about you, Akanishi?” Koki says coolly. “Any plans, or are you going to continue being a bum?”

“I’m looking into adult entertainment,” Jin says seriously, and Kame chokes on his coffee.

“Moving on,” Koki says quickly. “Weatherman Taguchi Junnosuke!”

Jin and Koki chatter aimlessly through Taguchi’s montage on purpose, but the tall man in the floral print suit isn’t even bothered as his fashion disasters and just as popular weather puns go unappreciated.

“I have big plans to join the circus-” Taguchi starts.

“Well, we’ll go next,” Koki cuts him off, pounding fists with Nakamaru who doesn’t quite look at the camera. “We’ve been together since the beginning anyway.”

It’s true. Koki and Nakamaru had met in broadcasting school, two years apart in age but the same grade due to some bad educational choices on Nakamaru’s side. From day one they were inseparable, starting a comedy duo on campus that got them noticed by the Domotos, and they’ve been co-anchors ever since.

Their montage brings tears to Nakamaru’s eyes, which he doesn’t bother to hold back because Koki’s practically bawling next to him. Neither one of them is moving out of Tokyo, but it won’t be the same not working together anymore. They take longer than usual rattling off the city’s headlines, bantering back and forth and playing off of each other’s natural cues that comes as second nature now, until they finally they run out of relevant things to say.

“I’m going to pursue my rap career,” Koki finally announces with a sniffle, “so please support me when I debut!”

“And this fool is going to be a traitor,” Jin calls out from Kame’s corner, pointing accusingly at Nakamaru. “Have fun sweeping the floors at It’s Big NEWS!!, Naka-whatever.”

Nakamaru sighs. “Kato-kun got his law degree, so they have an opening for an on-location reporter.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jin replies airily. “Pi offered it to me first, but I can’t work for him.”

Nobody asks him to elaborate on this. Instead, Nakamaru bows his head to the camera and continues his parting speech. “Thank you for taking care of me for so long, precious viewers. I look forward to bringing you the news from a competitor station.”

“And finally,” Koki jumps right back in, “none of this would have been possible if not for the strength and dedication of our leader, Producer Ueda Tatsuya.”

“Get your ass out here, Tatchan!” Jin yells, and Ueda narrows his eyes as he walks out onto the set.

“I won’t miss you at all,” he tells Jin, then faces the camera. “It’s been a long five years. Very long. I pride myself for making it this long without killing them.”

“Aw, we love you too, Tatchan,” Taguchi coos.

Ueda ignores him. “I’m especially disappointed that we didn’t manage to beat out It’s Big NEWS!! in the ratings even _once_ , and I had drunkenly bet that damn Nishikido that we would.”

“Oh shit,” Jin says, and Nakamaru hits the delay button. “Ryo-chan is ruthless. What were the terms?”

“Thanks to you idiots,” Ueda addresses them, “I have to shave my head. On live TV.”

Koki gasps. “Like mine used to be when the show first started?”

Ueda nods as he snaps his fingers, and an intern brings him a chair and an electric razor. “Kazuya, will you do the honors?”

“I don’t think you want Kame anywhere near your hair right now,” Nakamaru speaks up, and Kame looks like he agrees from where he’s slumping on the desk.

“He’s _shaving_ it,” Ueda points out. “He can’t possibly mess it up.”

Reluctantly Kame stands up from his area, wavering in his stance as he walks to the center of the set and takes the razor from Ueda. Nakamaru – along with the rest of the crew, and probably the viewers – watch in horror as Ueda’s gorgeous hair falls to the floor, clipped by Kame’s careful, obsessive shearing, until all that’s left is a layer of fuzz on Ueda’s head.

Jin walks right up and rubs his head, and Ueda’s glare is even fiercer without his mane to hide behind.

And just like that, it’s the end of an era, and Nakamaru leaves the KTUN building for the last time without looking back. They weren’t really the sweet goodbyes type of team, anyway.

*

Being an on-location reporter is a lot more fun than Jin made it look. Nakamaru gets to go outside, for one thing, interviewing officials and bystanders and getting right into the excitement instead of being cooped up behind a desk. Even in the bad weather, he’s out there with an umbrella and a poncho, in a full suit and tie because Yamashita had said that would be his niche. Kato had been the uptight prude one, so it seemed fitting that Nakamaru would just take over his role. Naturally, this came easy to Nakamaru.

Working for Yamashita is much different than working for Ueda. Yamashita doesn’t care what Nakamaru does as long as he’s where he’s supposed to be when it’s time for his segments, and other than weekly team brunches, the only time he interacts with the other members is on camera. It feels strangely isolating, and Nakamaru now understands why Jin made such blatant pleas for attention. For a job that involves a lot of talking to people, it sure is lonely.

It’s a good thing he has someone to come home to, even if his companion is just getting ready for class by the time Nakamaru gets home from work. Nakamaru doesn’t exactly know what they are, just that they _are_ , and Break the Fast being cancelled is the best thing that could have happened to either of them so they could finally _be_.

Professor Ueda’s head is fuzzy under his fingers, and his lips taste of the past, present, and future. And that’s a wrap.


End file.
